


Of Land, Sea, And Sky

by Katyakora



Series: Coldwestallen Week [7]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, ColdWestAllen Week, Multi, centaur!Iris, kelpie!Barry, siren!Leonard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 07:17:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8614708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katyakora/pseuds/Katyakora
Summary: At the rivermouth, land, sea and sky come together. It seemed fitting that it was here three very different creatures forged an unlikely bond.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Coldwestallen Week Day 7: Magical Creature AU

Leonard lazily let the tip of one wing dip into the gently lapping water. The mid-morning sun felt good on his skin and the rock he was lounging on was still nice and cool. It was a pleasant way to spend his morning, just sunning himself on a rock and watching the river flow into the sea. It would have been more pleasant if Barry wasn’t late  _ again _ . A sound caught his ears and he looked up, thinking perhaps the boy had arrived a little less late than usual. Instead he was treated to the sight of a lovely young centaur giddily cantering through the shallows of the rivermouth. Her lustrous black coat glittered in the sun as she pranced and kicked up water with delighted giggles. She looked utterly carefree and entirely unaware she wasn’t alone.

 

“Having fun?” 

 

She looked up with a startled gasp at his amused drawl. In an instant she was absolutely alert, snatching up her bow from her belt and knocking an arrow, although she didn’t draw it back. Her deep brown eyes fell on him and her face went slack in shock. To be fair, he probably made a stunning sight; his wings spread to catch the sun’s rays, the silver accents of his pale blue feathers glinting, lounging like he lay upon a velvet throne, not a seaside rock.

 

“Oh...I...are you a siren?” she asked in a wondrous whisper, taking a nervous step closer, although her hands still clutched her bow. He arched an eyebrow at her in amusement.

 

“I could always sing, if you need proof,” he offered flippantly. She scowled in response, raising her bow.

 

“Only if you want an arrow in the throat,” she warned. He chuckled and rolled onto his stomach so he could prop his chin on his linked hands and study her.

 

“Relax,” he drawled. “My voice only bewitches when I want it to. And there’s no fun in an opponent who won’t fight back.”

 

“Opponent?” she asked with raised eyebrows, but she did lower her bow again. “Look, I’m sorry if I trespassed or intruded, I just wanted to get away from the herd for a while.”

 

“Family trouble?” he guessed sympathetically.

 

“Something like that,” she admitted with a sigh, walking forward so she was actually on the beach proper. “My dad’s just been on my case lately.” 

 

Leonard frowned, not liking the sound of that. He had plenty of experience with bad fathers. “Nothing too harsh, I hope?” he hedged carefully.  

 

“Ugh, he just won’t shut up about me settling down and leading my own herd! I’ve told him a dozen times that I’m not interested in having any foals of my own yet, but he just keeps finding new stallions to push in front of me, like I’ll change my mind if I meet the right guy.” She stamped in frustration, sending up a splash of foam in the shallows. “It’s like he doesn’t listen to a word I say!”

 

Leonard let his shoulders relax, glad to hear it was just a case of an overbearing father rather than an abusive one. He might have just had to orchestrate a drowning otherwise. “You could always do what my sister did,” he suggested with a shrug. “When our father tried to marry her off, she ran away to live with a couple of banshees. Our father couldn’t touch her there and, last I heard, she and Sara are very happy together.”

 

The pretty centaur gave a mirthless snort. “Are you kidding? My dad would be ecstatic if I did that. He just has this idea in his head that I’m still a fragile little filly who needs a big strong stallion to protect me.” Her voice dripped with disdain at the concept.

 

“It sounds like he means well,” a new voice commented. Leonard smiled as Barry raised his head above the surface as he rode in on the whitewater, seafoam rolling off his seaweed mane as he trotted over to them. This time when Iris instinctively raised her bow, she did draw it back, keeping Barry’s scaly head in her sights.

 

“Considering I’m the best shot in the herd, he’s being ridiculous,” she informed him in a snarled warning, sidestepping so her body was now firmly between Barry and Leonard. The siren was a little startled and unexpectedly touched to realise she was trying to protect him. Barry took a step back as soon as he realised he’d spooked her.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he apologised hastily. “My name’s Barry. You’ve met my friend Len.” He jerked his head in Leonard’s direction. When the centaur spared a glance back, Leonard gave her a smile and a nod, prompting her to at least relax her bow. The arrow stayed nocked, however. Barry was still encouraged though and he took a tentative step forward. “May I know your name?”

 

“I’m Iris,” she answered slowly. “The stories never described kelpies as being so...polite.” 

 

Barry grinned happily at the compliment. “It’s an honour to meet you, Iris. I’ve always wanted to meet a centaur. Is it true all centaurs can hit a moving target at a hundred paces while in a full gallop? Or that you can compel horses to obey you with your mind? Or that-”

 

“Slow down there, Barry!” Leonard cut in. “Don’t overwhelm the poor girl.”

 

“Oh, sorry.” The kelpie hung his head a little in embarrassment. “It’s just that, most people kind of run as soon as they see me. Len was the first surface dweller to actually talk to me, and even he did it while up in the air at first.”

 

“Until I realised you were about as malicious as your average guppy,” Leonard teased fondly. “Truly, you are a disgrace to your species.”

 

“It’s not my fault most of us who come to the surface are assholes,” Barry whined, an old grievance he often aired to Leonard. “Some of us are just curious!”

 

“Well, you are certainly curious,” Iris murmured, looking a little shell-shocked. “And to answer you question; not all centaurs can hit a moving target at a hundred paces.” Her words made Barry droop a little at having his illusions shattered, so her didn’t see her impish little smile. “I can do it at two hundred.”

 

“Oh, I gotta see that!” Barry exclaimed, his exuberance returning in a heartbeat.

 

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Len cautioned. “You’d need to find a good open space and a target for that, and I don’t think you want to be going too far from the water with a herd nearby that’s likely to shoot first and ask questions later.”

 

“He does have a point,” Iris added with an apologetic shrug, but the kelpie just smiled.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he stated airily as water somehow began to flow up his body to pool around his shoulders, rippling and roiling as it formed a humanoid upper body where his neck and head had been. Murky seawater solidified into supple muscle and turned to the colour of pale new flesh. He grinned cockily at her gobsmacked expression, flourishing his arms in a ‘ta-da’ motion while Len smirked at his theatrics, hoping up to perch on his talons so he could get a good look at Barry’s new form. “Now why would they wanna shoot at little old me? I’m just another centaur.”

 

“That you are,” Iris mumbled, thoroughly dumbstruck. Leonard didn’t blame her; Barry’s humanoid features were rather pretty. He still had his big green eyes, and a couple of other things.

 

“You’re scales are gonna surprise them,” he pointed out drolly. Barry looked around at his back with a frown.

 

“You can’t tell from a distance though, right?” he asked uncertainly, running his freshly formed hand over his bronze scales where a normal centaur's coat would be. “And we’re not actually going to try to run into your herd, right?”

 

“Not if we can help it,” Iris confirmed absently mindedly as she gave into her curiosity to take a slow walk around him, inspecting the change from every angle. “Can you take any form?”

 

“Mostly.” Barry shrugged. “Trying to be anything smaller than I already am is really difficult to hold, though. Bigger things are easy, as long as there’s plenty of water to make the shape.”

 

“He turned into a siren once, just because he wanted to try flying,” Len added, enjoying the way Barry blushed pre-emptively. “He lost control thirty feet in the air. Luckily, we were over water, so he just made a big splash, not a big splat.”

 

“You got to fly?” Iris asked in wonder, apparently focusing on the wrong part of that story. “That must have been incredible!”

 

“Actually, it was kind of terrifying. After the first, uh, incident, I figured water dwellers were just not meant for the skies. At least in the form of a land dweller I get to run and the only thing I have to worry about is tripping.”

 

“Which you do. Often,” Len helpfully supplied, earning himself a glare. “Shall we go and find our markswoman a target? You did want to see her skills, after all.”

 

“Oh yeah, come on, I know a field near the riverbank that should have plenty of room and game,” said Iris as she began to walk back towards the rivermouth. Barry eagerly trotted after her, the pair of them continuing to swap questions back and forth. Len lightly pushed off up into the air, gliding lazily behind them until the trees became too much trouble so he came to rest side-saddle on Barry’s back, leaning on the kelpie’s shoulders so he could occasionally interject into the conversation. It was plain to see that his equine companions were getting on like a house on fire now that Iris had dropped her guard. It seemed to be an innate skill of Barry’s to get even the most cynical of creatures to trust him through sheer force of enthusiasm and adorable awkwardness. It had certainly worked on Leonard.

 

They reached their destination and it soon became clear that Iris had not exaggerated her skill in the slightest. Three hares, a hawk and a sparrow later and Barry and Leonard were thoroughly convinced there was not a target she could not hit. It was impressive to watch, and Leonard couldn’t help but imagine her galloping into battle, felling her enemies before they were even in reach, as beautiful and fierce as any war goddess. It was clear that Barry echoed the sentiment, if his wide, besotted eyes were anything to go by. Len smirked in satisfaction as he watched the pair of them, the sun glinting of coat and scale to make them appear as ethereal and tempting as any vision his voice might conjure. He had always been something of a thief, taking great pleasure in managing to rob travellers and sailors blind without having to resort to using his voice. It had taken him a while to realise just why he was so intent on stealing Barry away from the ocean’s depths, and in a single morning Iris had managed to stir the same yearning in him. He took a moment to ponder which was a greater threat; enraged, over-protective hydrokinetic kelpies or enraged, over-protective centaurs with uncanny aim. Let it never be said Leonard didn’t like to live dangerously. 

 

Unlike Barry, Len didn’t pout when Iris reluctantly admitted she needed to get back to her herd. He simply smirked and said he’d see her tomorrow. She’d arched an eyebrow at the assumption, but Len was not disappointed when the sound of approaching hooves reached his ears the next morning.

* * *

“So it finally happened.”

 

Iris looked up from the hare she was skinning at the unexpected sound of her father’s cryptic words. “What are you talking about, Dad?” The proud smile he pointed down at her simply added to her confusion and she rose to her hooves.

 

“Wally spilled the beans about where you’ve been disappearing off to every day.”

 

Iris’s heart sank. Wally had followed her a week ago, but she could have sworn he’d only caught a glimpse of Barry in his centaur form, an airbourne Len quickly making himself scarce. Iris had dragged her little brother away and begged him not to tell anyone, but apparently their father had wheedled it out of him. If her father knew she had been hanging around a siren and a kelpie there was no way he would ever let her out of sight of the herd ever again. So what was he grinning about? “I don’t see why you thought you had to hide this from me.”

 

“I...didn’t think...you’d approve?” Iris tried cautiously, utterly confused by her father’s reaction. Joe’s eyebrows shot up.

 

“Approve? Honey, I’ve been trying to convince you to find a nice stallion to start a life with for months now! What could possibly be wrong with this ‘Barry’ guy that I won’t approve of? Especially considering he’s managed to get my baby girl to finally show an interest.”

 

Iris blinked as the conversation finally made an absurd sort of sense. Wally had seen her with what appeared to be another centaur and automatically assumed they were courting. Not that he was entirely wrong; Iris may not be at all familiar with kelpie courtship but she was fairly certain from Barry’s behaviour that he was, at the very least, rather attached to her. And then there was the confusing way that Len looked at both of them, as though they were a pair of prized jewels. Those looks never failed make her feel special, and to her shock, she realised her own recent behaviour had been that of a mare inviting courtship. Not that either the kelpie nor the siren had likely realised, but it was still embarrassing for her to have been so forward without even realising. Was there something wrong with her, that she apparently wanted to be courted by creatures so different from herself? Thoughts of Len’s rare true smiles and Barry’s sincere eyes made her brush that thought aside. It didn’t matter that they were so different, as long as they cared for each other.

 

“Barry is...a little different,” she finally elaborated. “I just thought you might find him...strange? And, uh, there’s also,” she began to mumble, looking down at her shifting hooves, “there’s also his friend, Len.” Her father just chuckled.

 

“If you expect me to be surprised that there’s two fellas chasing after you, you got another thing comin’. I trust you to make the right call. Whatever you choose, I’ll stand by you. I just want you to be happy, baby girl. You know that right?”

 

Iris smiled up at her father, feeling intensely happy to have him. “Thanks dad, I know.”

 

“Well good, so maybe you can think about bringing eith-”

 

“IRIS!”

 

Joe looked up sharply at the panicked cry that cut him off. Recognising the voice, Iris was already moving to stop him as her father snatched up his bow to aim at Len, who was approaching dangerously fast.

 

“No, Dad, don’t he’s a friend, I swear he doesn’t mean us any harm!” 

 

Joe looked at her like he could barely believe her words, but Iris didn’t have time to dwell on that, because Len had landed worryingly heavily. She sped to his side, noting the soot marring his usually pristine feathers and the way he was coughing like he could barely breath.

 

“Len, what happened? What are you doing so far inland?” she asked, running a soothing hand up and down his back as he caught his breath.

 

“Fire,” he rasped. “Had to warn you.”

 

“Fire?” Joe demanded, his bow still in hand. Len nodded, eyeing him warily.

 

“To the northwest. Spreading fast.” He looked imploringly at Iris. “You ha- _ *cough* _ -ave to get to the river.”

 

Iris looked up at her father. “Call the herd.” 

 

“You expect me to lead our people straight to water on the word of a  _ siren? _ ” Joe asked icily.

 

“I expect you to trust me,” Iris snapped, incensed. “He is my friend and I trust him. Look at him, Dad! He’s risking his life to help us! So call the damn herd before we all die!” Joe scowled, clearly unhappy, but he took the polished horn from his belt anyway.

 

“I better not regret this,” he hissed at Len, before he brought the horn to his lips. He cantered off, the sound of the warning call trailing in his wake.

 

“Charming fellow,” Len croaked sarcastically before another coughing fit shook his frame.

 

“Come on, we gotta get out of here,” Iris cajoled gently as she pulled the siren onto her back.

 

“Taking me * _ cough*  _  for a ride, West? I’m not th-* _ cough*- _ that kind of girl.”

 

“You can barely fly right now,” Iris retorted, fighting down a blush. Once sure Len was secure, she headed for the river. “It’s either carry your ass, or drag your ass. Dragging is still an option.” 

 

His warm chuckle was right in her ear, his arms unexpectedly warm around her middle. Iris ignored her suddenly racing heart as she kicked into gear. Behind her, she could now see the ominous column of smoke rising above the trees. Hoofbeats reached her ears and she joined up with her stampeding herd. Her passenger drew some surprised looks, but it seemed the danger of the wildfire temporarily outweighed any mistrust towards the sooty siren on her back. She drew up alongside her father and brother, meeting her father’s worried eyes. He’d seen the column of smoke too.

 

“Left,” Len croaked in her ear. “Barry’s waiting at the bend with three * _ cough* _ willows. He can protect us there.” Iris didn’t bother to start an argument with her father. She simply forged ahead of him, letting the herd follow her lead. The river came into view and, sure enough, there was Barry in his centaur form, pacing along the bank. The smell of smoke was cloyingly thick now, stinging her eyes as she ran, the distant roar and heat a becoming a tangible presence.

 

“Everybody into the water!” Barry called as soon as they were in earshot. 

 

Several dozen hooves hitting the water should have made a resounding splash, but all that was heard was the muffled thud of mud. Barry’s arms were raised as he twisted and pulled the flowing water around them, creating a shield against the smoke and the heat. The centaurs of Iris’s herd eyed him warily, many hands resting on bows as the stranger forged a bubble of safety around them that could easily drown them with a thought. They clustered together, reassuring themselves that everyone had made it, while Iris alone approached Barry.

 

“You made it!” he gushed with great relief. “I was afraid Len wouldn’t be able to find you. Are you okay?” he addressed the miserable looking siren with great concern.

 

“I’ll be fine as long as I get some fresh air soon,” Len rasped.

 

“Thank you,” Iris expressed, resting a hand on one of the ones Len had around her middle as she looked at Barry. “Both of you.”

 

“We’ll always be here for you,” Barry assured her as Len squeezed her hand in response. Barry turned his head to face her nervous herd. “This way,” he instructed with a jerk of his head, leading them and moving the bubble of water with him, forcing them to follow whether they liked it or not. Iris ignored the whispering behind her, knowing she was in for one hell of an interrogation once they reached safety.

 

Outside Barry’s pocket of safety, the wildfire raged. It lit up one side of their bubble, baking them with it’s heat. Slowly, they were making their way towards the sea but Iris could see that Barry was starting to sweat with the effort he was exerting. He should not have been able to sweat. His centaur form was slowly melting away, water condensing and sliding off skin that looked more and more like scale. Eventually, Barry stumbled and his concentration finally broke, water cascading off him as his natural form was revealed. Shocked gasps echoed from the herd behind them as Iris helped Barry keep his feet.

 

“Iris, what the hell is going on!” her father demanded. She turned to find at least a dozen arrows pointed in Barry’s direction.

 

“Please,” the kelpie implored, making an effort to show as little of his pointed teeth as possible when he spoke. “We’re almost there.”

 

“Almost to our deaths!” Joe snapped back.

 

“No!” Iris firmly placed herself between Barry and their arrows. “He doesn’t want to hurt us, he doesn’t want to hurt anyone! He’s trying to help us!”

 

“You really expect me to believe that he and this siren didn’t start this just so they could drag all of us into the sea?” Joe snarled.

 

“Yes, because if that was all they wanted, they’d have killed us the second we hit the river!” Her fiery gaze never wavered from her father’s. “They would have killed me when I met them weeks ago. They’re not killers, Dad.” She could see Joe’s resolve beginning to waver and her eyes turned imploring. “You said you would stand by me, that you trusted me. Well, this is what I choose, Dad, and I am asking you to trust me. For all our sakes.”

 

Her father’s eyes went wide as the full implications of her words set in, his gaze flicking over the siren and kelpie his daughter was protecting with her life. He let out a long breath, lowering his bow. “We are gonna have a long talk once we get outta here,” he warned. Moving forward, he addressed Barry. “How much farther?”

 

“Not much, but we need to hurry.” At the centaur’s nod, Barry forged on. It was with great relief that he released his hold on the river-water as they finally reached the ocean. He practically collapsed in the shallows, catching his breath as the saltwater surrounded him. Iris knelt next to him, letting him lean against her. Len gently rubbed the kelpie’s neck, still perched on Iris’s back with apparently no plans on moving. In the distance, the fire roared, but the wind was driving it inland, leaving them safe on the beach.

 

“Thank you.”

 

The three huddled in the shallows looked up at the gentle expression of gratitude. Wally stood a few feet from them, looking hesitant yet determined, and a little bit curious. “Thank you for saving us.”

 

“Happy to help,” Barry responded bashfully. “And I’m sorry if my appearance scared anyone.”

 

“We were just startled, that’s all,” Wally assured him. “Your kind don’t exactly have the nicest reputation.”

 

“I know,” Barry said tiredly. “I’m working on it.”

 

“Well, you’ve got a whole herd to spread the word.” Wally spotted Joe approaching. “Dad’s grateful too, even if he might not sound like it.” With that, Wally made his exit as Joe reached the group. Joe crossed his arms and looked down at them, his expression blank.

 

“You know, when I said I wanted you to start a herd of your own, this wasn’t quite what I had in mind.”

 

“Dad!” Iris exclaimed, mortified by what he was implying, however correct he might be. Barry and Len both looked perplexed.

 

“That being said, all I ever really wanted was for you to find someone who’d protect you with everything they had. I guess you found that.” He gave the siren and kelpie each a side glance. “However unorthodox they might be.” He cleared his throat. “I owe you two an apology and my gratitude.”

 

“That’s okay, we’re glad to help.”

 

“I only did it for Iris.” Len’s blunt statement earned him an exasperated nudge from Barry. Joe just arched a brow.

 

“You two look after my girl, you hear?” he warned darkly before trotting back to the milling herd. The discussion of where to migrate now that the fire had destroyed much of the area drifted over on the wind. The fire hadn’t touched the other side of the river, but it was likely most of the game had been scared off. This land couldn’t support a full herd anymore.

 

“I guess this means you’ll have to leave soon, huh?” Barry said sadly.

 

“Actually,” Iris said slowly, feeling a little dumbfounded, “I think I’ve just been given permission to stay.”

 

“You’d...do that? Leave your herd?” Len asked.

 

“For us?” Barry added incredulously.

 

“I...if that’s okay? I...I’d like to stay. With you.” Iris bit her lip in a show of nerves as she waited for their answer.

 

“We’d love for you to stay!” Barry exclaimed. 

 

“I’ve got a cave, further up the beach. You can shelter there, if you need it,” Len offered, almost shyly.

 

“You really want me to stay?” Iris could feel a grin growing on her face as elation bubbled up inside her.

  
“Of course.” Barry nudged his head against her shoulder in a gesture of affection. “We’re your herd now.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the last prompt! Thank you so much to everyone who read and to everyone who kudosed and commented, you are so sweet and wonderful!
> 
> Also, if anyone's curious, the fire was totally dragon!Mick's fault.


End file.
